The organisation is calling for local services to deliver on their promise to improve the support for people who are suicidal, self-harming or in psychosis.

Last year, national and local governments, and leaders of key services in England, including health, police, and voluntary organisations, signed the Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat, an agreement that sets national standards for the care of people in mental health crisis.

The Concordat aims to make sure that no matter where someone turns, they get the help they need and do not fall through the cracks between different services. Key organisations, such as Hastings & Rother Clinical Commissioning Group and South East Coast Ambulance Service have come together to sign their own declaration agreeing to achieve the Concordat standards.

Ms Owen said: “One in four residents in Hastings will experience a mental health problem this year and countless more will be affected through friends, family, work colleagues and other people in their lives. I fully support Mind’s campaign to improve crisis care and will be monitoring progress on our local Concordat declaration.”

Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, said: “In a mental health crisis, your mind is at melting point. You may experience extreme anxiety, have suicidal thoughts or even a psychotic episode. It can happen to anyone. When you’re in crisis you need compassion and understanding, no matter who you turn to for help - whether it’s health and ambulance services, the police, social care or voluntary organisations.”

The Concordat, signed by East Sussex County Council chairman Keith Glazier and Director of Adult Social Care Services Keith Hinkley, states: “We, as partner organisations in East Sussex will work together to put in place the principles of the national Concordat to improve the system of care and support so that people in crisis because of a mental health condition are kept safe.

“We will help them to find the help they need − whatever the circumstances − from whichever of our services they turn to first.

“We will work together to prevent crises happening whenever possible, through intervening at an early stage.

“We will make sure we meet the needs of vulnerable people in urgent situations, getting the right care at the right time from the right people to make sure of the best outcomes.

“We will do our very best to make sure that all relevant public services, contractors and independent sector partners support people with a mental health problem to help them recover. Everybody who signs this declaration will work towards developing ways of sharing information to help front line staff provide better responses to people in crisis.

More details about the Concordat are at www.crisiscareconcordat.co.uk.